Human Resources
PDR job chat
scheme guide
The purpose of your Job Chat
Who has a Job Chat?
Some questions you may have:
We want you, as a member of staff, to feel valued and
able to contribute to the way you and your team work
and develop. Part of this process involves giving you the
opportunity to discuss your role in detail at least annually
in a Job Chat. Of course you will have other regular feedback
sessions with your line manager throughout the year where
your progress toward any agreed goals will be discussed.
•Anyone on grade 1 or 2, working full or part time.
There are likely to be local arrangements in place
to extend this to other grades
I already talk to my line manager– so why is this
scheme necessary?
You will have a Job Chat on an annual basis and your
School or Service will decide on the timescales to do this.
•It is best practice to have a Job Chat at the end of your
probationary review
The purpose of the Job Chat
Scheme
•Discuss your contribution at work: what is going well
at work and any challenges you may have
•Discuss how satisfied you are with your work and that
you have everything you need to do your job well
•Discuss how you are working towards your personal
and team goals and what you plan to work on in the
coming year
•Job Chat is not compulsory if you have notified us
you are retiring, if you have a contract of less than
one year and/or are on a contract of less than 0.2 FTE.
You can however, opt to have a Job Chat
Benefits of Job Chat:
•Improving job satisfaction by identifying and
removing barriers
•Getting your ideas on improving how you and your
team work
•Helping to identify gaps in skills and highlight
training needs
Line managers and supervisors will talk to their staff
regularly and it is important that this continues. However,
regular contact is not the same as your Job Chat. The Job
Chat allows you to stand back from the day-to-day rush
and think about how things are going and to make plans
for the year ahead. It therefore needs to:
•Take place annually with follow up meetings planned
if necessary
•Be planned in advance so you and your manager are
both prepared
•Be a two-way conversation; this way it is more valuable
than just a casual chat
Who will carry out the review?
The best person to discuss your job with you is likely
to be your immediate supervisor or line manager because
they are better informed about how you work than anyone
else. This person is called your reviewer. Requests for an
alternative reviewer will be considered in exceptional
circumstances only.
Your reviewer will make notes. It is a confidential process
and you and your reviewer agree what is to be recorded on
the form.
Who else sees the paperwork?
A record of the points agreed at the discussion and contained
in the Job Chat form will go to the senior management of
the department (Head of School or Support Service, Heads of
Department and team managers). These groups of managers
need to see the review record in order to plan for the year
ahead. If confidential matters are discussed, not all details
need to be recorded on the Job Chat form. You and your
reviewer decide what gets recorded.
What do I need to do?
•The format is informal and relaxed. Thinking about the
questions prior to Job Chat will help make the Job Chat
more valuable to you.
•You should arrange a time to meet with your reviewer for
your Job Chat. The form should be completed during or at
the end of this Job Chat, and your manager will usually do
this. Once you have agreed that the form holds an accurate
record of your discussion, you and your reviewer both sign
the form. This should include any targets/plans or training
requirements you have set.
•Your reviewer will give you a copy of the completed
form. The forms will be stored confidentially for a period
of 5 years.
You will be given the completed Job Chat form and a copy
will be kept in a confidential file.
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The Job Chat
questions
Below are the Job Chat questions
with notes which we hope will aid
your understanding of each question.
Considering these questions before
your Job Chat is an important part
of making the process valuable.
Making notes may help you.
The ‘reviewer’ is the person who
carries out your Job Chat with you.
This will be your line manager in
most cases
You should use last year’s Job Chat
form to review last year’s goals.
Your contribution
over the past 12 months
4 What aspects of your job have
you found most challenging?
What have you done about that?
1 How has the last year at work
been for you?
How have you dealt with any
challenges at work? Have you dealt
with the challenges positively?
What did you do? With the benefit
of hindsight, could you or your team
have dealt with this better? Is there
anything to learn from this?
This is a chance to chat generally about
how things are at work.
2 What have you done at work
over the last year that you are most
proud of? Look at any Learning
and Development forms you have
completed over the year to help you.
Share any successes. What have you
enjoyed most? Following learning and
development activities, what have you
done differently? What new skills have
you used? Was any training not useful
to you? If not, why was that?
3 What progress have you
made on goals you agreed
with your manager?
You should be agreeing, where
necessary, goals and targets to work on
over the year. How are they coming on?
If you haven’t met them, why is that?
Do you need to re-set some goals?
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5 What would help your team
to work better together?
Have you any ideas that would help
team working in your area?
6 What could your team do in
order to improve how it works
with and other teams?
You probably work with other teams
and individuals in the University.
This is a good opportunity to find
out if this is working well and plan
improvements.
Your job
Plans for the year ahead
1 Do you have everything you
need to do your job well?
1 Are you clear about what you
and your team need to focus on
over the coming year?
Think about resources, equipment,
training or support that might help
you do your job well. Do you receive
sufficient information from your line
manager relevant to your job, such
as changes in university systems and
planning ahead for these?
2 How do you find out if you
are doing your job well?
You or your manager can ask for
feedback from customers and
colleagues before the Job Chat. How
do you get feedback that helps you
improve how you work? Could we
improve on that? Does feedback come
from your manager or maybe from
colleagues, customers or other staff in
the University? Your reviewer will note
any actions you both agree.
3 What do you think would
improve the service we give to
our customers?
We want to have your views as you
are the closest people to the customer.
What could be done better? Is there
anything that stops you from giving a
good quality service?
You are likely to be setting goals with
your reviewer for the coming year.
Your reviewer will support you and
track your progress towards goals.
Is there any training or learning that
would help you meet your goals?
You may be able to link your personal
goals to team goals or wider university
strategies. Your reviewer will help you
see how what you do at work fits in
with the success of the University.
Your reviewer will note any actions
you both agree.
2 Do you have any plans or work
ambitions for the coming year?
3 Is there anything else you or your
reviewer wish to raise?
You both get a chance to raise anything
else you feel is relevant. Do you have
any health and well-being matters that
you would like to discuss (this can be
discussed confidentially, and need not
be recorded in full on the Job Chat
form, but will enable us to make sure
we are supporting you properly).
If there are any important changes
to your job role, you should agree to
review your job description and this
should be done after the Job Chat.
There is training available for staff and
reviewers to help with understanding
the process and the questions more
fully. Reviewers must be trained before
undertaking Job Chats.
You can have a discussion about any
plans you have for the coming year,
or any work ambitions. Your reviewer
will help you identify steps you may
need to take to start working on your
ambitions. Does the University or your
department have any changes/plans
which will affect your work, and how
should you plan ahead for this?
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PDR job chat
scheme guide
For more information, please contact:
Human Resources
University of Reading
Whiteknights House
Reading, RG6 6AH
[email protected]
Tel (0118) 378 8751
www.reading.ac.uk/hr
B09531 12.13
Every effort has been made to ensure that this information is accurate, reliable
and easy to understand. This booklet is a guide and does not constitute terms and
conditions. If you would like to read more about working for the University please
visit the Human Resources Website at www.reading.ac.uk/hr